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Trivia: Musical Terms

Subject : trivia
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. A symbol indicating the note is to be raised by one semitone.






2. Indicating speed.






3. A loose collection of instrumental compositions.






4. Pertains to tone or tones.






5. Music composed such that each note is used the same number of times.






6. A style of male singing where by partial use of the vocal chords - the voice is able to reach the pitch of a female.






7. Pertains to tone or tones.






8. A set of five musicians who perform a composition written for five parts.






9. Pertaining to the fugue - the overlapping of the same theme or motif by two or more voices a few beats apart.






10. An extended solo - often accompanying the vocal part of an aria.






11. A melodic or - sometimes a harmonic idea presented in a musical form.






12. A lighthearted piece - written in several movements - usually as background music for a social function.






13. A period in history during the 18th and early 19th centuries where the focus shifted from the neoclassical style to an emotional - expressive - and imaginative style.






14. A system of notation for stringed instruments. The notes are indicated by the finger positions.






15. Lowest female singing voice.






16. A musical composition written solely to improve technique. Often performed for artistic interest.






17. Initially an improvised cadence by a soloist; later becoming an elaborate and written out passage in an aria or concerto - featuring the skills of an instrumentalist or vocalist.






18. The study of forms - history - science - and methods of music.






19. Harsh - discordant - and lack of harmony. Also a chord that sounds incomplete until it resolves itself on a harmonious chord.






20. Elaborate polyphonic composition of the Boroque and Renaissance periods.






21. Combination of two or more keys being played at the same time.






22. One of the two modes of the tonal system. Music written in major keys have a positive affirming character.






23. A piece of music written in triple time. Also an old French dance.






24. A direction in sheet music indicating the tempo is to be very fast.






25. A sequence of songs - perhaps on a single theme - or with texts by one poet - or having continuos narrative.






26. Eight full tones above the key note where the scale begins and ends.






27. Combination of two or more keys being played at the same time.






28. The interval between two notes. Two whole tones and one semitone make up the distance between the two notes.






29. A combination of two or more staves on which all the notes are vertically aligned and performed simultaneously in differing registers and instruments.






30. A reprise.






31. Music written for a lively French dance for two performers written in triple time.






32. The unit of measure where the beats on the lines of the staff are divided up into two - three - four beats to a measure.






33. A chord progression that seems to lead to resolving itself on the final chord; but does not.






34. A set of seven musicians who perform a composition written for seven parts.






35. The seventh note of the scale where there is a strong desire to resolve on the tonic.






36. A hymn sung by the choir and congregation often in unison.






37. In sheet music - a symbol at the beginning of the staff defining the pitch of the notes found in that particular staff.






38. Word to indicate that the movement or entire composition is to be played grandly.






39. Three to four movement orchestral piece - generally in sonata form.






40. Two or more voices or instruments playing the same note simultaneously.






41. Pertaining to the sonata form - a fast movement in triple time.






42. Repetition of a single tone.






43. The retuning of a stringed instrument in order to play notes below the ordinary range of the instrument or to produce an usual tone color.






44. A symbol used in musical notation indicating to gradually quicken tempo.






45. One who directs a group of performers. The conductor indicates the tempo - phrasing - dynamics - and style by gestures and facial expressions.






46. A composition written for three to six voices. Beginning with the exposition - each voice enters at different times - creating counterpoint with one another.






47. Often used in overtures - a composition that uses passages from other movements of the composition in its entirety.






48. Music that is easy to listen to and understand.






49. Ability to determine the pitch of a note as it relates to the notes that precede and follow it.






50. Two notes that differ in name only. The notes occupy the same position.For example: C sharp and D flat.






Can you answer 50 questions in 15 minutes?



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